1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the field of three dimensional interlocking puzzles toys which can be manipulated and configured into a multiplicity of different shapes and orientations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, manipulative toys and interlocking building block puzzles are known in the prior art. The following 16 patents and published patent applications are the closest prior art references which are related to the present invention.
1. U.S. Pat. No. 2,115,012 issued to Harry A. Douglas on Apr. 26, 1938 for “Connecting Means” (hereafter the “Douglas Patent”);
2. U.S. Pat. No. 3,523,384 issued to Louis Adelsohn on Aug. 11, 1970 for “Fastenable Three-Dimensional Puzzle Pieces” (hereafter the “Adelsohn Patent”);
3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,406 issued to Takao Matusmoto et al. on Nov. 27, 1984 for “Connected Prism Elements Swivellingly” (hereafter the “Matsumoto Patent”).
4. U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,144 issued to Patrick A. Roberts on Apr. 16, 1985 for “Multi-Cube Puzzle” (hereafter the “Roberts Patent”);
5. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 285,226 issued to Kenzou Kassai on Aug. 19, 1986 for “Construction Toy” (hereafter the “Kassai Design Patent”);
6. U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,147 issued to Sand-dae Lee on Sep. 6, 1994 for “Multi-Cube Puzzle” (hereafter the “Lee Patent”);
7. U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,850 issued to Chen Sen Li on Nov. 30, 1999 for “Four-Layer Intellectual Cube”) (hereafter the '850 Li Patent”);
8. U.S. Des. Pat. No. 422,036 issued to Santiago Laserna Fernandez on Mar. 8, 2000 for “Toy Block” (hereafter the “Laserna Fernandez Design Patent”);
9. U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,356 issued to Chen Sen Li on Oct. 10, 2000 for “Five-Layer Intellectual Cube” (hereafter the “356 Li Patent”);
10. U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,248 issued to Stephen J. Winter on Jun. 5, 2001 for “Interlocking Solid Puzzles With Sliding Movement Control Mechanisms” (hereafter the “Winter Patent”);
11. U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,850 issued to Samuel M. Dodek II on Oct. 8, 2002 for “Cube Puzzle” (hereafter the “Dodek Patent”);
12. U.S. Des. Pat. No. D470,196 issued to Soren Christian Sorensen on Feb. 11, 2003 for “Toy Building Element” (hereafter the “Sorensen Design Patent”);
13. U.S. Pat. No. 6,655,685 issued to Ching-Hung Tsai on Dec. 2, 2003 for “Three-Dimensional Jigsaw Puzzle” (hereafter the “Tsai Patent”);
14. U.S. Pat. No. 6,679,780 issued to Sywan-Min Shih on Jan. 20, 2004 for “Polyomino Piece For Games” (hereafter the “Shih Patent”);
15. U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,385 issued to Bent Atzen et al. on Jan. 27, 2004 for “Toy Building Element With Transversal Openings” (hereafter the “Atzen Patent”);
16. U.S. Des. Pat. No. D490,483 issued to Benoit M. Auberger on May 25, 2004 for “CUBE” (hereafter the “Auberger Design Patent”); and
17. U.S. Published patent application No. 2005/0133994 issued to Keshavalyenger Yoga Narasimhan on Jun. 23, 2005 for “Self-Interlocking Cubic Puzzle” (hereafter the “Narasimhan Published Patent Application”).
The Douglas Patent discloses the concept of having a jack with a multiplicity of intersecting bores as illustrated in FIG. 5 including having female threaded members 21 and 22 having a transverse internal screw-threads 23 and 24. There is a threaded stud 2 that is threaded directly therein. A tight engagement between the stud and the jack is shown by having a biasing means including a steel ball and the spring. This device is for a different purpose than the present invention.
The Adelsohn Patent discloses a concept of having a triad of male prong members 14 which are inserted into receiving bores 32 as best illustrated in the mating figure of FIG. 7. It differs from the present invention in that the means by which the building blocks of the invention re held together is not flexible; once a piece is assembled together with another, it cannot be rotated or put in a different position, unless jarred apart and assembled in an alternative position.
The Matsumoto Patent discloses a multiplicity of interlocking triangular members which are interlocked together by a screw thread assembly 32 so that one member can be rotated relative to the other member to create an infinite number of shapes as illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. However, the device operates by rotation on a threaded swivel joint.
The Roberts Patent discloses a multi-cube puzzle with means to obtain the individual cubes 14 in an assembled relation for ease of manipulation. There is included end retaining members or caps 20 and 22 disposed at the distal end of each leg 18 of the core 12. Each retaining member possess a flange-like exterior periphery slightly larger than a single face of smaller cube 14. Each of the smaller cubes 14 is free to slide laterally or vertically into the single hole or void cube space provided in the cubical array.
The Kassai Patent is a design which discloses a construction toy having a multiplicity of male threaded members which can be threaded into female receiving members.
The Lee Patent discloses a multi-cube puzzle wherein there are female members and male members so that one can be inserted into the other to create a different design. The pieces contain color elements to facilitate creation of a color pattern design. Each body element 2 of the body assembly 100 is made of transparent plastic and has a cubic structure, the top of which is hollow with flanges with rounded corners as shown in FIG. 5. The body element 2 has a screw hole 22 in the center of the bottom part 24A to fix the body element 2 to the central core 50. The bottom part 24A of the body element has four legs 25 along the side of the bottom, each of which is half the dimension of one side, to be cross-combined with the corresponding leg of another body element positioned at a right angle to the first body element.
The '850 Li Patent discloses a four-layer intellectual cube with the operating mechanism best illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. The axle block 10 is assembled with the rotatable blocks 20. Each of the square limiting plates 22 of the rotatable blocks 20 is drilled to form a through hole 23 on the tailing end of its corresponding pivot joint 21, and a sleeve 24 with a flange on the outer end thereof is inserted in the through-hole 23, aligning the inner end of the sleeve 24 with a corresponding pin hole 11. A screw 25 is threaded in the sleeve 24 and is fixedly screwed in the in hole 11, so that the rotatable block 20 is confined on the hole 11 but is rotatable about it.
The Laserna-Fernandez Design Patent discloses male and female interlocking members wherein the male is inserted into a group therein within the female so that the blocks can form any multiplicity of designs.
The '356 Li Patent is a five layer intellectual cube. Referring to assembled structure of the first blocks 10 and the central axle block 100 a shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the first blocks 10 are hollow and are generally “T” shaped. The tops thereof face outwardly and form rotatable plates 11, and a rotation axle 12 is provided on the bottom of each of them. The bottom surfaces of the rotatable plates 11 are all arciform, and the rotation axles 12 can be pivotally inserted into the six axle rods 101 of the central axle block. The device operates differently from the present invention.
The Winter Patent discloses an interlocking cube puzzle with sliding movement control mechanism. The concept here is to have a multiplicity of interlocking channels with male and female interlocking members. Specifically referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 there are different various channels carved into the sides of the cuboid with male interlocking members to interlock female members so that the puzzle can be created in any shape.
The Dodek Patent discloses a cube puzzle wherein the members are interlocked by having an opening extending through the puzzle through which a threaded member can be extended and fastened in place by a wingnut. The blocks can be assembled together in only a single predetermined manner.
The Sorensen Patent is a design patent which discloses male and female slotted members in a block for the toy building block.
The Tsai Patent is a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. It consists of a multiplicity of male prong members inserted into a multiplicity of female members with various orientations as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 to create a multiplicity of different shapes. The design can also be varied so that the overall shape of the figure can be varied as shown in FIG. 8.
The Shih Patent discloses polyomino pieces which basically interact having a male and female member to enable any type of design to be created as illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. Specifically, the male members 18 can be inserted into the rectangular openings 1 as illustrated in FIG. 7. There are also various shapes for male members including round a shown in FIG. 7, polyomino as shown in FIG. 8, crosses as shown FIG. 10, etc.
The Atzen Patent is a toy building element with transversal openings. There are a multiplicity of male and female interlocking members and circular openings 7 to receive a male member in a snap fit to create a structure.
The Auberger Design Patent discloses a cube with male and female members on its sidewalls so that the cubes can be interlocked.
The Narasimhan Published Patent Application discloses a self-interlocking cube. It is a spatial logical toy composed of twenty-four identical elements plus eight identical tetrahedral solid elements and a central solid core member arranged in a self-interlocking manner to form a cube. External triangular surfaces of eight toy elements form one face of the overall large cube, and each toy element can be rotated in any direction of the spatial axis within the cube. By rotating the toy elements, several combinations become possible.
There is a significant need for an improved three dimensional puzzle with improved interlocking features which enable a large multiplicity of different puzzle orientation to be formed.